The present invention relates, in general, to auxiliary handles, and more particularly to an auxiliary angled attachment for use as a handle for ice hockey sticks.
Conventional ice hockey sticks are constructed of wood and have a straight handle, or shaft, portion with an angled blade portion at the lower end thereof. The shafts of such devices have a standard cross-sectional dimension and length, although the construction is such that a hockey player can cut the end of the shaft off to adjust the stick to any desired length.
Although the provision of a straight shaft has been conventional on hockey sticks for many years, such sticks are awkward to use, since the straight shaft does not conform to the natural angle of the palm of a player's hand with respect to his forearm, when his hand is closed to grasp the hockey stick and when the wrist is in its natural position. As a result, a player must shorten the shaft so that this wrist will be at a more comfortable angle when the blade is on the surface of the ice. This shortening of the stick, as well as the unnatural angle of the wrist when the stick is being used, detract from the player's ability to drive the hockey puck either for passing or for shooting, and thus limits the puck velocity which the player can obtain. Further, the straight shaft limits a goal tender's ability to handle the stick for blocking shots or for passing the puck.
In spite of the limitations imposed by a straight shaft, it has not been practical to try to shape the end of hockey sticks to better accommodate the natural angle between the user's hand and his forearm, since each player would then require an individualized stick length. With present sticks each player cuts the shaft to the desired length to maximize his comfort and ease of handling. However, the variety of lengths that result from such individualized modifications of the standard stick length precludes the manufacture of individualized shafts. The large number of sizes that would be required in such a situation would greatly increase the expense in manufacturing and stocking the hockey sticks, and would greatly increase their cost.
It is also noted that because of the awkward angle of the hockey stick shaft when the blade is on the ice, players tend to lift the stick to waist level when skating without the puck, and this results in an increased risk of injury not only to the player carrying the stick, but to other players and officials.